The Monterey Bay Aquarium is home to more than 35,000 animals and plants representing
more than 550 species. The responsibility for the health and comfort of those species
relies on a team working behind the scenes that has a distinct Cal Maritime connection.
Facilities Systems Manager Eric Quamen and Systems Operator Rick Leach, both 1984
Marine Engineering Technology graduates from the Academy, are two members of the facilities
sys-tems team that keeps critical systems operating in the 200 galleries and exhibits
at the world-famous attraction. That's no small feat considering that 1,800 gallons
of water per minute are pumped into the Aquarium around the clock. In all, nearly
one bil-lion gallons of seawater annually flows from the bay through the Aquarium
and back into the ocean.
Even before the Aquarium opened in 1984, Quamen was one of three Cal Maritime graduates
on staff getting everything up and running. Over the years, six Cal Maritime alumni
have been part of that team, including Leach.
From the beginning, their experience at Cal Maritime helped the alumni with their
important duties at the new operation.
"The hands-on experience with big machinery coupled with the engineering theory taught
at the Academy was a great combination for making the fledgling Aquarium system work
right away in the early days of operation," said Quamen. "We had a new system, unlike
anything we'd seen before, and ani-mals were arriving while we were doing start-up.
It was an exciting time."
Quamen has said that the aquarium is like a ship that never leaves the dock.
"We set up the operational watch right away," he explained. "Using 12-hour shifts
and compacted work weeks, we implemented the 24/7/365 thinking right out of the box,
placing the systems operator into a position of responsibility for the buildings and
the animal collection within. Much like operating a ship underway, we need to run
our systems with the skills and resources already in place within the build-ing. There
simply isn't outside expertise available in a hurry that understands the interdependencies
and quirks of what we are running here."
"I think the diligence, work ethic and teamwork required to successfully gradu-ate
[from Cal Maritime] have been as valuable as the curriculum," said Leach. "There are
aspects of the experience that are obviously of great value, but I think it's the
intangibles that make a [Cal Maritime] grad a little more adept in the field."
Of the 1.8 million visitors per year that come through the Aquarium, very few probably
consider the importance of the behind-the-scenes work, but it's been a constant from
the beginning.
"Animal health depends on problems being solved very quickly. In the early days,
it was hard to plan a week at a time. [These days], working in manage-ment, I plan
my weeks plenty. Every day is different, though now I deal with people, funding, and
lots of data-crunching," said Quamen.
"I get to work in a beautiful place, and I still brag about [Cal Maritime] a third
of a century later."
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ABOUT CAL MARITIME
Established in 1929, California State University Maritime Academy is the only degree-granting
maritime academy on the West Coast. Located in Vallejo, California, the campus offers
undergraduate degrees that prepare students for careers in engineering, transportation,
international relations, business, and global logistics. Cal Maritime also offers
a master’s degree in Transportation and Engineering Management, as well as a number
of extended learning programs and courses.